Advanced Learning Academy

· Orange County · Santa Ana Unified · Public

Public Orange County 🏛 Santa Ana Unified → ~39 seniors CDS 3066670…
📄 Shareable scorecard →

🧭 A parent's read

  • 8 in 10 graduates leave eligible for UC and CSU. 79% finish the A-G courses California's universities require before a student can even apply — most California schools manage about 6 in 10.
  • About 6 in 10 students read and write at grade level. On the state's own 11th-grade test, 63% met or exceeded the college-readiness bar — well above the state as a whole (statewide: 54%).
  • One question for any counselor: who should still test? Plenty of strong students skip the SAT/ACT now — but merit scholarships at dozens of colleges still key off scores. Ask how the school decides who should still sit for one.

Composed from this page's data — every claim is backed by a number in the sections below.

📋 At a glance

Programs & features
  • ✅ Gifted & talented program
Academic signals
  • 🎓 AP rigor: Bottom 25% of US high schools

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

🎓 Where grads go — and what it costs & pays

UC Reach Score
18
Around the CA median near the state median
Top-6 UC admits per 100 seniors in the Class of 2025 — counts each campus admit, so a student admitted to several UCs counts more than once (which is why a strong school can score over 100).

UC admits by campus · Class of 2025

UCSD
3 admitted
Net $12,470/yr avg
Grads earn $84,943 @10yr
UCD
4 admitted
Net $14,741/yr avg
Grads earn $80,838 @10yr

Getting in is step one. The cost above is the average family's net price — yours depends on your income — and your child's odds depend on their GPA + scores. See your family's real numbers at these campuses:

🎯 Get my child's odds + our real net price →

Sources: UC Office of the President (admits); IPEDS net price + College Scorecard 10-yr earnings (cost & payoff). Full campus-by-campus breakdown below.

You've seen Advanced Learning Academy. What are your child's real college odds? Check any college in 10 seconds — no email needed — then get the free Family Decision Report: Reach / Match / Likely + your real net price for every college on their list. Check odds →
💡

How Advanced Learning Academy compares for families

Mid-pack college outcomes within California.

  • StatewideUC Reach Score of 18 — right around the California median of 18.
  • vs Similar SchoolsTrails the peer median (UC Reach Score 18 vs a 80 median) across the 5 most similar nearby schools.

For Parents

📬

Get alerts when Advanced Learning Academy's numbers change

New admissions results, enrollment shifts, test scores — a few alerts a year, no spam. Your email also saves your list across devices.

Objective, government-grade data — no school pays us for placement.

SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21
SAT/ACT test-takers
0
11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test
Test-taking intensity
0.0
takers per 100 students in grades 9-12

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.

🏛️ Federal Title I context

High-poverty school

Title I Schoolwide eligible

89.8%
FRPL rate — % of students who qualify for the federal Free or Reduced-Price Lunch program. This is the underlying federal income-eligibility signal Title I designations are computed from (ESEA Sec. 1113).
0% (no FRPL) 35% TA · 40% Schoolwide 100% (universal FRPL)

≥75% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. These schools qualify for the highest tier of federal Title I funding and typically receive extra wraparound services. Academic outcomes vary widely — check the state assessment + grad-rate tiles.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, free/reduced-price lunch eligibility. The actual Title I designation is a district decision and may differ from eligibility — but the federal eligibility math is what we show here. We don't claim to assert whether the district formally chose to enroll this school in Title I.

SBAC academic outcomes — grade 11, 2025

Share of grade-11 students meeting or exceeding the California standard on Smarter Balanced ELA and Math. This is the academic-readiness signal that pairs with UC Reach (post-grad outcomes), stability (retention), and absenteeism (engagement). Note: statewide median Math is only ~20% — a school at 20% isn't an outlier; one at 45%+ genuinely is.

About 6 in 10 students read and write at grade level — above the state norm.
Fewer than 1 in 10 students do math at grade level — below the state norm — worth asking what extra support looks like.
ELA — met or exceeded
n = 27
63.0%
incl. 11.1% exceeded
On the Orange County median (63.7%) · CA median 54.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 79.3%
Math — met or exceeded
n = 28
3.6%
incl. 3.6% exceeded
-33.5 pts vs. Orange County median (37.1%) · CA median 21.1% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 53.6%

Source: California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) Smarter Balanced research files. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥30 tested students.

Student composition — 2025-26

HS grades 9–12 racial/ethnic composition and program subgroups, from CDE Census Day Enrollment. Two-year shift shown when ≥1 pt — surfaces how the community served has changed since 2023-24.

Race / ethnicity

Hispanic / Latino 97% +1.2
White 1%
Asian 1%
Two or more 1%
Not reported 1%

Program subgroups

Students w/ disabilities 93% +7.2

Source: California Department of Education, Census Day Enrollment 2025-26 (HS grades 9–12). Δ shown when shift is ≥1 pt since 2023-24. Categories below 0.5% omitted.

Chronic absenteeism — 2024-25

Share of students missing 10% or more of expected attendance — the leading indicator that often precedes the demand decline shown above. Families disengaging tend to raise absenteeism first, then formally leave. Basis: grades 9–12.

Kids show up: 16% are chronically absent versus about 23% statewide — engagement most schools would envy.
Chronic absent
15.6%
24 of 154 students

Absenteeism is up 15.6 pp since 2017-18. A rising absenteeism trend often precedes formal departure — worth investigating which subgroups are driving it.

Orange County median
17.9% · school is better than 64% of 94 HS
Statewide median
22.9%
Chronic absenteeism by year (raw %)

Source: California Department of Education, Chronic Absenteeism 2024-25. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥100 eligible students. CDE didn't publish a usable 2019-20 file (COVID).

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment (9–12)
356 (2018)368 (2026)
+3.4%
Grade 12 (graduating class)
7 (2021)25 (2026)
+257.1%

If this trend holds (+0.2%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon Projected Total enrollment Change Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027) ~369 +1 $0
3 yr (2029) ~370 +2 $0
5 yr (2031) ~371 +3 $0

Straight-line extrapolation of the recent annual rate — a what-if, not a forecast of intent. Default = California's LCFF base grant for grades 9–12 ($12,423/ADA). Edit the figure to match your school.

How does Advanced Learning Academy really compare on getting kids to college?

We've ranked it #3 of 4 most similar nearby schools on UC Reach. Unlock the full snapshot to see the head-to-head — who's ahead, by how much, and where it's heading.

The full head-to-head table — every peer school's UC Reach, side by side.
Enrollment trend + 3-year projection — is this school growing or quietly shrinking?
The plain-English read on what it all means for your family.

Your similar-school group includes

Ednovate - Legacy College Prep. · Nova Academy Early College Hs · Cesar E. Chavez High · Middle College High · Gilbert High (continuation) · Lorin Griset Academy · +4 more

Objective, government-grade data — no school pays us for placement. We'll email you the snapshot and a few alerts a year. Unsubscribe anytime.

Enrollment stability & demand — 2024-25

Two complementary signals: retention (do students stay once enrolled?) and demand (are families choosing the school?). Read against the Orange County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.

88% of students who start the year here finish it here.
Mixed signal
Demand outpacing county is masking internal churn.

Enrollment growth is beating Orange County (+257.1% vs. -10.3%), but 19 of 160 students didn't maintain continuous enrollment. Why are families leaving once enrolled?

+257.1%  school enrollment (2021–2026)
-10.3%  Orange County baseline
+267.4pp  gap vs. county
88.1%  retention (county median 91.8%)
Enrollment — indexed to 100 at 2021
Stability rate by year (raw %)
Stability rate
88.1%
141 of 160 students

19 of 160 students who enrolled at Advanced Learning Academy this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (11.9% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

Orange County median
91.8% · school is in the 34th percentile of 94 HS
Statewide median
87.2% · in the 55th percentile of 1,689 HS

Stability by student group

Hispanic / Latino (378) 91.3%
Socio. disadvantaged (354) 92.7%
English learners (93) 91.4%
Students w/ disabilities (57) 91.2%

Nearest peer high schools

Ednovate - Legacy College Prep. 87.4% Nova Academy Early College Hs 82.8% Cesar E. Chavez High 26.7% Middle College High 98.0% Gilbert High (continuation) 51.9%

Source: California Department of Education, Stability Rate 2024-25. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥100 cumulative enrollees so by-design-high-churn continuation schools don't dominate the bottom of the distribution. Cumulative enrollment counts every student on the rolls during the year, so it can exceed peak-day enrollment.

District financial profile — Santa Ana Unified (FY2020)

From 4 years of NCES F-33 filings (the federally-mandated district finance survey). Public schools don't have their own books — the district does. These figures show the financial scale, revenue dependence, instruction-vs-overhead mix, and long-term debt that shape what a school can sustain.

Total revenue
$856.0M
+6.5% since FY2017
Per-pupil revenue
$19,336
44,271 students enrolled
Revenue mix
State: 56.1%
Local: 28.4%
Federal: 15.5%
Instruction share
62.3%
of current spending · $10,226/pupil
Long-term debt
$514.3M
+31.4% since FY2017
Total revenue by year ($M)
Total expenditure by year ($M)

Source: NCES F-33 Annual Survey of School System Finances (Urban Institute Education Data API). Latest year currently published: FY2020. F-33 is a district-level federal filing — it reflects the Santa Ana Unified as a whole, not this individual school's books. Revenue mix shows where the district's dollars come from (state aid dominates in CA via LCFF). Instruction share is current expenditure on instruction ÷ total current expenditure (national benchmark ~60%). Long-term debt is end-of-year outstanding (mostly facilities bonds).

📊 Key takeaway · Class of 2025

Advanced Learning Academy sent 71 applications to the six most selective University of California campuses and 9.9% were admitted, producing a UC Reach Score of 180 points below the California median of 18, higher than 50% of California high schools..

University of California outcomes · Class of 2025
UC Reach Score
18
Around the CA median Top 50% of CA high schools
7 admits / 39 seniors
-62 pts vs. peer median (80) · Ranked #3 of 4 similar schools
5-year trend
2024 · 15 2025 · 18
Where this sits on the California curve
CA median
18
Peer median
80
Top 10%
51
This school
18
050100
CA median 18 Top 10% ≥ 51 This school 18

Higher than 50% of California high schools (980 ranked, ≥50 seniors)

📊 What this number means

Advanced Learning Academy's UC Reach Score of 18 is below the California median (18). The top 10% of CA schools achieve 51 or higher.

But in Orange County, where the local median is 25 and the top-10% bar is 71, this score is mid-pack rather than exceptional — typical of its market rather than a standout.

Against similar schools, Advanced Learning Academy trails the peer-group median (80) — even though it looks strong vs. the state average.

For context, the elite tier (top 1%) clears 97 — a gap of 79 pp from where this school sits.

Overall, Advanced Learning Academy's UC Reach is higher than 50% of California high schools (980 ranked).

UC Application Reach Score
182
71 applications
Most seniors are applying to at least one of the six most selective UCs (applications counted at each campus).
In context: CA median 75 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 241 · Orange Co. Top 10% ≥ 295 · higher than 84% of CA HS.
UC Admit Rate
9.9%
7 / 71 applications
In context: CA median 26.1% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 40.4% · higher than 0% of CA HS.
UC Yield Rate
N/A
None enrolled of 7 admitted
Yield vs. Enrollment Reach: Yield answers "of UC admits, what % chose UC?" — denominator is just the admits. A small admitted cohort can post a low yield even when the school sends a healthy share of its class to UC.
UC Enrollment Reach Score
N/A
None enrollees / 39 seniors
Enrollment Reach vs. Yield: Reach answers "of the whole senior class, what share ended up at UC?" — denominator is everyone. High Yield with low Enrollment Reach is common at elite privates: most admits matriculate, but the school sends most of its class to non-UC selective colleges.
Student-Counselor Ratio
Counseling here is unusually well-staffed — about 184 students per counselor, near what experts recommend.
184:1
2.0 FTE counselors · 368 students
In context: CA median 338:1 · 154 fewer students per counselor · ASCA target 250:1.
A-G Completion
Most graduates leave here ready to apply to UC and CSU — 8 in 10 finish the required courses, versus about 6 in 10 statewide.
79%
34 of 43 graduates · 2024-25 cohort
In context: CA median 55.9% · +23.2 pp above · Orange Co. 60.5%.
Selective UC Reach (UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCD)
7.7
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 15.5 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 41.5 · higher than 12% of CA HS.
Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA)
N/A
Senior Class Size
39
CDE grade 12 (exact)
Total School Enrollment
363
All grades · CDE Census Day
Avg. Applicant GPA · top-6 UCs
3.62

UC Outcomes Trend — 2021–2025

UC Admit Rate %
UC Reach Score (where available)
UC Admits (count, right axis)

Class size from CDE grade 12 enrollment. Campus-level data — applicant/admit totals may count a student at multiple campuses more than once.

Campus Breakdown — 2025

Campus Applicants Admits Enrollees Admit Rate UC Reach Score Yield Avg GPA (App) Avg GPA (Adm)
UC Berkeley → Elite 14 3.69
UCLA → Elite 12 3.69
UC San Diego → Selective 11 3 27.3% 8 3.62
UC Santa Barbara → Selective 9 3.35
UC Irvine → Selective 17 3.62
UC Davis → 8 4 50.0% 10 3.71
= UCOP-suppressed (count below 3 students, hidden for privacy — actual value is 0, 1, or 2, not necessarily zero). Campus-level totals may count one student admitted to multiple UC campuses more than once; Admit Volume metrics are not the same as UC Reach, which requires unique-student counts. See methodology →

What This Means

A large share of the senior class applies to UC, indicating strong college-going culture and UC pipeline development.
A large share of the class applies to UC, so the admit rate runs lower than the application volume alone might suggest — expected when many students apply broadly, including to reach campuses. UC Reach (which credits every admit relative to the class) is the truer read of how the class fares: a strong Reach alongside a moderate admit rate is healthy, not a contradiction.
Note: the UC Reach Score sums campus-level admits across the top-six UC campuses, so a student admitted to both UCLA and UCSD is counted at each. It reflects competitive admit volume relative to class size — admit-events, not distinct students — which is why a Score can exceed 100.
Compare with other schools → See Orange County rankings →

For School Admins

The full Reach Report for Advanced Learning Academy

A board- and LCAP-ready intelligence brief: your enrollment retention and college outcomes, benchmarked against your closest competitors, with a 5-year forecast, concrete steps to act on, and the rigor + outcomes story you can share with your families. Built from primary public data — prepared for you, not auto-generated.

  • Your UC Reach Score (18) ranked head-to-head against your closest competitor schools
  • Your 5-year enrollment forecast (currently 0.2%/yr) with the revenue at stake
  • Student-retention benchmarking vs your county median — and the LCAP evidence to back your goals
See a sample report →

For Parents

Researching colleges for your kid at Advanced Learning Academy?

Check any college's odds in 10 seconds — no email needed — then get the free Family Decision Report: Reach / Match / Likely with real admit odds and your real net price, for every college on their list.

Check your child's odds →

For School Admins looking at enrollment trends: request a Reach Report →

🎯 What are your child's odds? →